Droughts (干旱)are common in Kenya. Before, they came every 10 years, but now they seem to be hitting us more often and for a longer time.

    We gave the droughts names :“longoza”was the drought when many animals died ; there was the drought of the “planes” because food was dropped from the air by planes; and one particularly bad drought was called “ man who dies with his money in his fist (拳头)”，because, even if there was money, there was simply no food to buy.

    I was born in 1951 in Machakos. From what my mother tells me, when I was 7, there was a serious drought. I clearly remember the terrible weather and the hunger. I can't tell you how many times I went to bed without eating. “ I slept like that, ” is how we described it. I can't count the number of days when “ I slept like that,” or describe the feeling of going to sleep hungry, knowing I'd wake up and there would still be no food for breakfast.

    My father would leave early in the morning carrying a little basket to ask for food on credit (赊欠). Each night he would return home around 10:00p.m. My mother would try to encourage me by telling me to keep the water in our pot boiling so that when my father arrived we could quickly cook any food he brought in the already prepared water. I would keep the fire burning and the water boiling, along with the hopes that we would eat that night. But my father would arrive frustrated and empty -handed. And I would sleep like that.

    Jack walked up to Sue and said, “Hello, how are you? May I sit and talk with you for a moment?” “Of course, please sit down,” Sue said. Jack sat down next to Sue on the bench (板凳), and they talked quietly together. The dog continued to look up at Sue, as if（似乎) waiting to be given some food.

    “That's a nice dog, isn't he?” Jack said, pointing at the animal.

    “Yes, he is. He's handsome. He's strong and healthy.”

    “And hungry,” Jack said. “He hasn't taken his eyes off you. He thinks you've got some food for him.”

    “That's true,” Sue said. “But I haven't.”

    They both laughed and then Jack said, “Does your dog bite（咬）anyone?”

    “No, ”Sue said, “ He's never bitten（咬）anyone. He's always gentle and friendly.”

    Hearing this, Jack decided to hold out his hand and touched the animal's head. Suddenly it jumped up and bit him.

    “Hey!” Jack shouted. “You said your dog didn't bite.”

    Sue answered in surprise, “Yeah, I did. But this is not my dog. My dog is at home.”

    One day, Mr. Smith went to a dinner party. He was wearing very old clothes. He came into the room. But people in the room didn't look at him. They didn't ask him to sit at the table. He wasn't happy. But he said nothing.

    Mr. Smith went home quickly and put on (穿上) his best clothes. He went back to the party. Everyone in the room stood up and looked at him. They gave him good food to cat. Mr. Smith took off his coat, and put it on the food and said, "Eat, coat!" "The other people were surprised and asked, "What are you doing? Why do you do that?" Mr. Smith answered," I am asking my coat to eat food. When I wore old clothes, you didn't look at me. You didn't ask me to sit down. Now I am wearing these nice clothes. And you give me good food. Now I see, you give the food to my coat, not to me."

    Kevin lived in a village in Africa. One morning, the teacher came into Kevin's classroom with a new girl. "Hi, guys! My name is Jenny. I am from America. I came to Africa with my dad. It's nice to meet everyone," the girl said.

    Kevin noticed (注意) that he looked different from Jenny. As soon as school was over, he ran home to ask his mother, "Mom, there is a new student Jenny in our class today. She comes from the US. Everyone in Africa has curly hair, right? Then, why is Jenny's hair straight?"

    Mom thought for a minute and said, "It's always hot in Africa. Curly hair is like a sponge (海绵) with many holes (洞), so the air can get in and out easily. If your hair was like Jenny's straight hair, you wouldn't be able to stand the heat (热). Our curly hair is necessary (必要的)!"